"The way to attack Alabama this year is through the air." -- Kirk Herbstreit

The ability of Adrian Hubbard (42) and the Alabama defense to get pressure on Georgia quarterback Aaron Murray may be a key to Saturday's SEC Championship Game. (Mark Almond/malmond@al.com)

ATLANTA, Georgia - One team has enough elite athletic talent to make up for any
mistakes. The other doesn't seem to make any.

When Alabama and Georgia meet in Atlanta on Saturday for the SEC
championship, points may be tough to come by. Though both offenses can be
explosive, Alabama boasts the top defense in the nation and Georgia's defense,
ranked No. 22 nationally, is crammed full of top NFL prospects.

Ole Miss offensive coordinator Dan Werner, whose Rebels were
among the few SEC teams to play both Alabama and Georgia this season, said the
Crimson Tide and Bulldogs were "by far the best teams we played defensively."

"Against Georgia, we actually moved the ball a little bit early
and they just got in a base defense and outmanned us," Werner said of the
Bulldogs, who beat Ole Miss 37-10 on Nov. 3. "Every play we called, it just
looked like it was well-blocked and all the sudden the hole would close and it
would end up being a 2-yard gain."

Werner said Georgia outside linebacker Jarvis Jones, who leads
the SEC with nine sacks and 14½ tackles for loss, is "as good a pass rusher as
I've seen in a long time. We actually had a couple schemes put in just for him,
to slow him down."

Alabama, meanwhile, is tough
to scheme against because the Crimson Tide doesn't seem to have any weaknesses,
he said. "I never had a good feeling that, 'Man, this is something we can
exploit,'" said Werner, whose Rebels fell 33-14 to the Tide on Sept. 29.
"They're so solid, so well-coached, and they've got great players, too."

ESPN analyst Kirk Herbstreit said that while Alabama has an edge
"just because of the expectation within the program of making it to Atlanta,"
Georgia seems to be playing its best football of the season. "From the time
that safety Shawn Williams called them out publicly, they've been a whole
different type of defense," he said.

Herbstreit and CBS Sports analyst Gary Danielson, who will be
calling Saturday's game along with Verne Lundquist, both said they see the game
coming down to the trenches - specifically, Georgia's offensive line against
Alabama's defensive front.

"The weaknesses of both teams are kind of facing each other,"
Danielson said. "Alabama's not a great pass-rush team - there's no Hightower,
there's no Upshaw, there's no Marcell Dareus who individually can rush the
passer. They have to kind of do it as a group. But that's kind of the worst
thing Georgia does - pass protect. So who wins that left-handed dribbling
contest will probably be the story of the game."

Herbstreit's colleague at ESPN, Desmond Howard, said he sees
quarterback play as the key to the game.

"I think AJ McCarron has played better in big games than Aaron
Murray," Howard said, adding that Murray's lackluster performance in a 35-7
loss to South Carolina is a red flag. "I was on the sideline ... and he just
seemed disinterested. South Carolina got off to a fast start, but at the end of
the day, you've got to kind of anticipate that."

Murray completed just 11 of 31 passes for 109 yards and an
interception against the Gamecocks. Herbstreit, who also worked the game, said
all the blame for that loss can't be put on Murray, however. "His offensive line
didn't give him a chance to compete in that game," Herbstreit said. "I think he
has the ability. The games when he's struggled are more of a reflection of the
players around him struggling as well."

While both teams feature strong running games, with T.J. Yeldon
and Eddie Lacy for Alabama and Todd Gurley and Keith Marshall for Georgia, LSU
coach Les Miles said he believes the Tide may have an edge there - "maybe it's
because I know how well they run the football."

Herbstreit said, however, that while balance is important, "the
way to attack Alabama this year is through the air" -- particularly through
creating mismatches.

"I think the secondary, although it's talented, I don't think
they have the depth there they've had in the past," he said. "If they get
(Robert) Lester, (Vinnie) Sunseri or (John) Fulton one-on-one, I think that's
where Aaron Murray goes with the football."

Werner believes the story of the game will be a familiar one.
"Any time you've got two good defenses and ball-control offenses - any big game
- it all comes down to big plays and turnovers," he said. "As an offensive
coach, that's what I'm looking for."